15th November 2020, Skopje – As of next year, budget deficit will be decreased, to be reduced to 2.1% or below the Maastricht criterion by 2025. Budget deficit consolidation is envisaged, however, what remains a priority is to implement the Government’s policies aimed at protecting citizens’ health and saving the economy, Minister of Finance Fatmir Besimi said at MTV’s debate on the 2011 Budget, whereat Prime Minister Zoran Zaev and economic experts also took part.
-There are several urgent goals – one of them is the citizens’ health, followed by saving the economy and the third one is all other important processes, including the European integration process and the rule of law, as well as human resource investments, which will be driving forces of the long-term growth – Besimi said.
Minister of Finance underlined that the fiscal consolidation will be carried out by taking actions on both the revenue and the expenditure side. From the aspect of improving the budget revenue collection, Besimi pointed out the measures aimed at reducing the informal economy, preventing and eradicating corruption, coupled by strengthened inspection controls by the Public Revenue Office, measures related to tax debt collection by natural persons and companies and tax policy strategy, which will provide for increasing the efficiency and the effectiveness of the tax system.
Besimi pointed out that the reduction and restructuring of expenditures would be carried out by cutting non-priority and non-essential costs, greater support to the private sector, innovations and boosted competitiveness, such as the Guarantee Fund and the Private Capital Mobilization Fund, streamlining and revising the transfers and subsidies (social transfers, transfers for different areas and local government transfers), increasing the efficiency of capital expenditure execution and analyzing the budget structure.
